Indicators of Health Status in Populations
indicators of health problems are mortality (death), morbidity (disease), and disability (dysfunction). Sometimes discomfort and dissatisfaction are added, making a list of “five D`s” including quality of life measures. In addition, there are positive indicators of health status such as life expectancy and fitness.
Mortality has been expressed increasingly in recent years as years of potential life lost (YPLL) to give greater weight to deaths at younger ages. This measure is more sensitive to the preventable mortality in childhood, youth, and the adult productive years.
Comparative data on these indicators are available from a variety of sources, such as National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control, other agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services (or the ministries of health in other countries), local and state (or provincial) health departments, the Bureau of the Census (see the annual Statistical Abstract of the United States), professional journals and associations, and the World Health Organization.
References :
References :
T. Abelin, Z. T. Brzenzinski, and V. D. Carstairs, eds., Measurement in Health Promotion and Protection, Copenhagen : WHO Regional Office for Europe, European Series, No. 22, 1987.
In use since 1982, Years of Potential Life Lost (YPLL) measure the impact of diseases and injuries that kill people before the customary age of retirement. It is computed as the sum of products over all age groups up to the age of 65, sometimes 75, each product being the annual number of deaths in an age group multiplied by the average number of years remaining before the age of 65 for that age group. See Centers of Disease Control, “Premature Mortality in the United States: Public Health Issues in the Use of Years of Potential Life Lost”, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 35 (suppl.,): 2S.
L. W. Green and M. W. Kreuter., Health Promotion Planning an Educational and Environmental Approach, Mayfield Publishing Company, Mountain View, 1991.
